Negotiations and ice cream

The markets sell everything and prices are open to negotiation. Under corrugated metal roofs perched on wooden posts, one can find Fanta and Coca-Cola in bottles; sparkly jelly sandals; burlap sacks full of grains and spices, tomatoes and onions; circular blue and green plastic bins for washing; tires; rusty pipes; driftwood lumber; concrete blocks; gasoline parceled out in old plastic water bottles or empty vodka bottles; clothing; luggage; furniture (wooden bedframes, oversized recliner chairs, tables); wooden crafts; sculpted masks; jewelry. It's a beader's paradise here. People buy fabrics which are made into clothing by seamstresses and then dyed vibrant colors and patterns. The supermarkets and department stores in the US seem very far away.

I surprised myself with my negotiation skills today. The merchants routinely quote foreigners prices that are three times the prices quoted to locals, so I learned to immediately divide a price by a third and then start negotiating. The merchants are relentless in heckling customers – if you run your fingers over one necklace, they hand you that necklace as well as six others. They’ll start showing you other items for sale, too, polishing metals and cleaning wooden pieces with rags to entice a sale. I sat down with merchants in a couple of shops and reviewed the items that I’d chosen, and then began bargaining. As long as one’s not in a hurry, it’s a fun experiment. I sort of felt like Ralphie's dad in "A Christmas Story" when he negotiates the price of the Christmas tree, both sides feeling the thrill of a bargain when the deal is settled. As we left, even my colleague said that she was impressed.

I had my first Malian ice cream today: a scoop of papaya under a scoop of chocolate. Absolutely divine! We ran into two other girls whom we had met last week at the dinner where I discovered bissap and ginger. They were friendly and invited us to join their table, and showed us their purchases from the market, where we were headed next. I was initially intimidated by them because both are French and had spoken so fast in conversation at the party, but today I followed along (at least the topics) and even chimed in here and there. Hurray for small triumphs.